Sales Tips for All Seasons

Improving closing percentages, even during a difficult economic climate, can be accomplished by applying the right skills and attitude. While innumerable sales techniques exist, start practicing the fundamentals for immediate results.

Plain and simple, a tough economic climate places unforgiving demands on sales consultants to work harder and smarter. Many salespeople, especially in trying times, go in search of the proverbial magic bullet. But the reality is there are no easy paths to success. The surest way to prosper is a strict focus on the fundamentals in order to maximize every sales opportunity.

Overcoming objections, getting customers to sign on the dotted line, and even selling additional equipment and services, all begins with the right attitude and razor-sharp selling skills. Let’s drill down to the proven nuts and bolts of winning techniques you could be employing in the field right now.

Sales Presentation Overview

Like a skier traversing a slalom course racing to the finish line from one pole to the next, every great sales presentation has a strategic flow to it. One part leads logically to the next. Mastering the steps in any sales presentation will greatly enhance your chances to close the deal. You must be able to outperform the previous sales consultant and those who will subsequently visit your prospect.

Remember, enthusiasm sells! Stay excited throughout the presentation. Enthusiasm and confidence are essential tools in sales. Personal motivation is more important than ever as well. Any sales professional should consider reading motivational books or listen to motivational CDs.

Use letters of recommendation to prove reliability and value. It’s all about building creditability with the prospect. The best prepared salesperson always keeps a list available of the company’s highest profile customers handy.

The smartest way to get new customers is to call on the friends, neighbors, relatives and associates of your existing customers. Your company probably has some sort of referral rewards program. Explain it and the potential rewards in detail, and then ask your customer to go through their cell phone’s speed-dial list to retrieve the names and numbers of their friends who could benefit from your security solutions. The best time to ask for referrals is at the time of the sale.

When nearing the finish line at the conclusion of a presentation, be tenacious when asking for the order. You are not going to take no for an answer. It all starts with your attitude. Be mentally prepared with a rebuttal in the event you get a negative response when you ask for the order.

Be Prepared to Answer Objections

When the typical sales consultant runs into what he or she perceives to be an objection they often become dejected and either walk away or make a feeble attempt to contend with the roadblock. Don’t panic! This just simply means you are not finished selling yet. There are more questions to be asked and you have more to say.

First of all, watch your attitude. It’s not really an objection with which you are dealing. Look at it as an “area of concern” and not the prospect’s final answer. Nothing has been finalized. You still have a great shot of scoring the sale.

There are really only three major objections. Any negative answer you get when you ask for the order will relate directly to: 1) It costs too much; 2) I want to shop around; or 3) I want to think it over.

Let’s look at some of the fundamentals you must consider when overcoming any of these objections:

Do not become confrontational— Look at it like this … you and the prospect are on the same team trying to work through this area of concern.

Understand the objection— Listen carefully. Many times what they say and what they mean are entirely different. You might hear, “Your surveillance system is too expensive.” Does the customer want a better price? That might not be the case at all. What they might be saying is they are not sure they need this much protection for their premises.

Agree with the prospect— This lowers the prospect’s defenses and allows you the opportunity to show them how the two of you can work the deal through. You are not agreeing with the objection, but you are agreeing that you understand how they feel.

Answer the objection— Every professional sales consultant must have at least three good responses to each of the three major objections. Know them and when to use them. Get the prospect to agree by asking an assumptive question such as, “That makes sense, doesn’t it?”

Ask for the order— “Mr. and Mrs. Jones, we can have your protection installed Thursday or Friday. Which day is best for you?”

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